Three Times A Lady
by Justimagine935
Summary: The CSI team are stumped when they come across a variety of bizarre deaths all very different in style but when one of the team recognize the victim, the evidence begins to point to one man, Adam Ross. Leads to eventual romance between Adam and Haylen
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction, so it wont be much special, I'm not aspiring to be an author or anything I just thought I'd give it a go :)  
The first chapter is pretty much setting the scene, getting the characters involved and what- not but I hope to develop it into a longer series and eventually the romance between Adam and Haylen, not sure what rating to put it as really, for now its anyone but it may change later :)**

Read and review if you'd like :) xx

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Chapter one

The sun rose over New York as the CSI's arrived at their first case of the day, Flack stood in the hallway of the apartment building ready to greet Mac and the team.

_"The call came in at 7AM this morning, the landlord came to collect the rent and found the vic like this"_

The team followed Flack to the scene where they were greeted by a bizarre scene, a beautiful young woman delicately dressed in a cream wedding dress hanging from the staircase, her face seemed pale and lifeless but her piercing green eyes were filled with fear, a gaze Stella could never forget.

_"What's with the dress? Looks like some kind of suicide, stood up at the altar maybe, do we have a name for our bride?"_

Flack crossed the apartment to a purse perched on the coffee table.

_"Stephanie Elder, 26, looks like she was a waitress at Duggins, me and Danny will head over there now, keep us in the loop Mac"_

Hawkes began to photograph the body, concentrating on the rope around her neck and the deep scratches on her forearms.

_" She's got defensive wounds, maybe this isn't as straight forward as first thought, looks like this rope is digging into her skin, but there's no signs of petechial haemorrhaging" _

Mac and Stella helped to release the woman from her suspended position and let her gently fall to the floor, her dress billowing out around her like the wings of an angel and a curtain of blonde hair fell around her face. Hawkes swept the golden mess from her face and closed her eyes, it was always these kinds of cases that make his spine tingle, the cruelty someone can perform against another was sometimes too much to think about.

Lindsay crouched down next to Hawkes and began collecting traces from under the victims fingernails.

_"makes no sense, there's no other wounds, no stabbing or bullet holes, she must have been strangled by the rope"_

Hawkes continued to examine the rope, his expression shifting through each emotion before settling on confusion, his brow furrowed as he tried to piece together what could have happened to this woman.

_"I'm not so sure, I've never seen something like this before"_

Lindsay nodded in agreement before photographing the victims hands, her fingernails were manicured to perfection with not a blemish in sight.

_"Hey Hawkes, something's been put in our victims hand, looks like some kind of Tie or belt"_

Lindsay pulled the material from the victims hands and began to examine it, the black tie was definitely a mans, and looked expensive.

_"Looks like some kind of argument involving a guy, maybe its led to something more than just a lovers' quarrel, things got out of hand"_

Mac stood over his team, observing the detail thats gone into the cover up of this murder, it was definitely planned and personal.

_"We better get this back to the lab, get her to autopsy, its gonna be a long day"_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Flack and Danny pushed through the crowded bar as waiters dashed from table to table barely uttering a word to their guests.

_"let's see if no rest for the wicked is just a saying, yo kid!"_

Flack moved towards a young waiter and pulled his shield from his pocket, flashing it at the confused boy.

_"NYPD, we need to ask you a few questions"_

The waiter pulls a small bag of white powder from his pocket and throws it at Flack before throwing his hands behind his head.

_"Look I was only holding it for a friend, I don't use, I swear!"_

Danny glances over at Flack and chuckles.

_"look kid we're not here about drugs, and you shouldn't go throwing that stuff around like that, but we're here about Stephanie Elder"_

Flack pockets the white powder and shakes his head before producing a photo of the victim and passing it to the waiter

_"know her?"_

The waiter runs his fingers over the angelic face of the victim and slowly nods his head.

_"Yeah, that's Steph alright, would notice that face in a crowd of hundreds, shes dead? ...I ... I can't believe it"_

_"You know if she had any problems with anyone?"_

_"No way, everyone loved her!"_

_"Let me guess, you loved her too"_

_"No! Well...yeah, but she had a new boyfriend, and I don't steal another guys girl!"_

Danny exchanged glances with Flack and pulled out a notepad.

_"New boyfriend huh? Do you have a name for him?"_

The waiter looks down at the photo again and then quickly pushed it into Flacks hands.

_"nope, he's very recent, always seemed to keep his hood up, been picking her up for the past week"_

_"got any more details? Height, weight?"_

_" er, maybe 5'7, slim and I think Caucasian, I don't really know, he wouldn't look anyone in the eye, guy was a freak"_

_"So they definitely weren't planning on getting married, for instance?" Flack questioned_

The waiter frowns at the two detectives.

_"I doubt that, Steph was extra careful, was saving up to go to art college, she wouldn't waste that kind of thing on a guy she's only just met, she had her life mapped out and organised, god, that's something I'll miss about her"_

Flack and Danny thank the waiter and head towards the exit, glancing at the other waiters and bar tenders for any kind of strange behaviour.

_"What you think about the waiter? Possible suspect?"_

_"I'm not so sure, he doesn't have a motive other than a bruised ego, besides this shady boyfriend seems a lot more interesting"_

"Okay, we need to find some evidence of this guy at her home, lets get goin'"

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers! Heres some Adam! This is where the story gets interesting! **

**Read, review and enjoy xx**

Chapter 3

Adam pushed onto the subway and settled onto an empty seat, the subway was always empty when Adam was late, which of course was every day. He dug his hand into his pocket and took out his cell and punched in Danny's number.

_"Hey, look Danny I slept in again, can you cover me again?"_

Danny chuckled _"Adam! Come on man, this is becoming a regular occurrence, this new girl of yours better be worth it buddy"_

_"Hell yeah she is, you know the other night I was just drifting off to sleep and then I felt this huge –"_

_"Oh god Adam, please man! I don't wanna see my breakfast again, speak to you later!"_

The hang up tone rang into Adams ears, even if he had scarred Danny for life, it was worth it. Emma was perfect, they'd been only dating a few months but he was sure it was going to last, although he had said that about the last three. The beep of his phone woke him from his daydream. **Emma Shipman, New message.**

Adam smiled to himself and clicked **open message.**

**_"Hey babe, I've got a present for you! I'll give you it tonight at dinner, see you tonight honey, ILU x"_******

This is something he'd missed for the last few months of singlehood, the gifts, the texts, the kisses and the warm body next to you at night, but he couldn't help thinking that something wasn't right, she'd been saying I love you every day, hell, practically every minute! But he couldn't bring himself to say it, it just didn't seem right yet.

Adam shook his head violently and exited out of the subway and ran towards the office block, pushing through the glass he sighed at the size of the cue for the elevator and decided the stairs was a better option. The office was buzzing with life as usual as Adam slid into his lab unnoticed, he shook off his coat and turned on his computer.

_"Hey stranger, was hoping you weren't going to turn up, Mac would've give me your shift"_

The tall blonde stood at the doorway of the lab staring at Adam with a smirk playing on her crimson lips, Adam glared at the blonde and entered his computer password.

_"Look, Haylen how many times do I have to tell you? My job, my lab and my shift, got it?"_

Haylen laughed _"Calm down crabby ass, I'm just kidding, anyway new case in and its a good one! Get yourself sorted and head to Macs office, oh and nice background"_

Adam scoffed and watched Haylen leave the lab, turning back to the computer he frowned at his new desktop background, a picture of himself wrapped in yellow police tape from his birthday party last year, the team thought it would be hilarious.

_"Damn it! They promised they'd never use them photos"_

Adam glanced over at Haylen who was still giggling in the adjacent lab, as much as he hated to admit it, she was beautiful and funny and pretty damn smart.

_"Stop! You've got a girlfriend!"_ Adam thought aloud.

He took one last glance over at Haylen and jogged towards Macs office, he'd get back at Haylen later.

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The heavy footsteps of Mac Taylor echoed down the corridors as Sid began to examine the young womans body, Mac swung through the large metal doors and pulled on his lab coat.

Sid laughed _"wow, you seem as eager as I am to autopsy this young lady. Well first things first, we're gonna get rid of this rope, may need some help, it looks like whoever tied this rope has just tied as many knots in as they can, its definitely not anything professional. Here, give me a hand"_

Mac moved to the top of the body and began to untie the knots as Sid slowly tugged the rope from the woman's delicate neck. The silence that lingered amongst the two working men was broken by the sound of breathing as the womans chest began to sink; Sids expression sank into disbelief as he reached for mac's arms and gripped him firmly.

_"please, don't move"_

Macs eyes widened as he stepped away from the body.

_"Sid, what's going on? Is she still alive?"_ Mac whispered.

Sid held the rope to her neck with great force as Macs eyes widened in shock.

_"What're you doing Sid! "_

_"Mac calm down, she's alive, but this is something that doesn't happen very often, or at all really. She's had her throat cut, before she was hung, the rope must have been so tight, it prevented any breath from leaving her lungs, and also stopped any blood flow"_

Mac stepped closer to the body _"I can see where this is going, if you loosen that rope, blood is gonna go everywhere right? I'd say to leave it on, but we need to check it for trace, and directionality"_

Sid sighed _"Okay, you're gonna need to get behind that glass shield there, its gonna get messy"_

Mac took his position behind the shield and watched as Sid stepped behind the victims head and slowly began to lift the rope from the neck. Blood immediately spurted out of the gaping wound, beating against the glass panes and running down the victims freshly cleaned skin and pooling beneath her small frame.

Sid began to shower away the blood from the victims body as Mac returned from behind the shield.

_"The killer must have some knowledge of crime scenes and how to cover up their tracks, less blood, less chance of leaving behind full prints of fingers or shoes, pretty smart"_

Sid began to examine the hands of the victim paying close attention to blisters on her fingers and cuts on her arms.

_"Or maybe not, these scratches on the victims weren't defensive wounds, they were made after she'd already been killed, they didn't bleed very much"_

Mac examined the woman's hands and added_ "and they weren't made by her at all ,her writing blisters and burns from the resteraunt are on her right, that's her dominant hand, her cuts are on the right as well, there's no way she made these cuts with her left"_

Sid looked at Mac_ "but what if she just decided to use her left? People do strange things"_

_"no, no way, look at the directionality the cuts would be curved downwards if she had cut her own wrists, they're facing upwards, it had to be someone facing her, and even if she did someone helped the process by slitting her throat, there's definitely some kind of crime going on here"_

Mac began to collect trace from the wound of the neck as Lindsay and Stella burst through the metal doors, panic scrawled across their faces.

_"Mac!"_ their voices began in unison before Lindsay took over. _"The prints from the tie found in the vics hands came back with two different donors, ones an unknown female donor, not in the system"_

Mac looked across to Stella in confusion _"and the other donor?"_

Stella looked to the floor and passed the results to Mac

_"Mac...It's_ Adam"

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Adam stood in Macs office waiting for him to return from autopsy, he watched as lab techs strolled by the office sneaking looks at him and then returning to their post.

_"What the hell is going on with everyone?"_ he muttered to himself.

He began to run his fingers across the old books and records collecting dust on Macs shelf.

_"Sweet!"_ Adam whispered as he pulled an old 'Guns n Roses' record from its resting spot.

_"Adam"_

Macs voice startled Adam as he hid the record behind his back and grinned, like a child.

_"Sorry boss, I wasn't snooping, well maybe a little but I didn't break anything!"_ As Adam finished his sentence the record slipped from its case and smashed onto the wood floors.

_"Ok, thats my bad. I'll fix it!"_

Mac closed the door from the prying eyes of Adams colleagues and sat at his desk

_"Adam, please sit down"_

Adam glanced over at the broken record and sighed, the only time Mac ever lets him sit down in his office is when he's going to be suspended or maybe this time it will be worse, Adam sank into the leather chair and looked at his feet.

_"whatever it is I've done I'm sorry"_

_"Adam, Do you know a Stephanie Elder?"_

Adam looked into Macs eyes, as the confusion travelled across his face.

_"Stephanie Elder? I don't know, sounds familiar but..."_

Mac passed the finger print results to Adam.

_"Your prints were found on a tie found at the crime scene today, Adam, it was placed in her hands"_

Adam raised his hand to his mouth as his fingers traced every inch of the paper before him.

_"I know you've heard this a thousand times before but, I honestly have no idea how my tie got into this girls hand, I lost this a few months back. Mac? Am I a suspect?"_

Mac sighed _"I don't know yet, depends on what else Danny and Flack find at the scene, are you positive you don't know this woman Adam?"_

Adam furrowed his brow in concentration and studied the case folder in front of him, as Mac began to repeat what he'd already read.

**_"Stephanie Joanna Elder, 26, born in Phoenix, Arizona, moved here a couple of years ago, a reason was never specified. Went to Heather cross High school but dropped out before graduation -"_******

Adam slowly met Macs eyes and nodded his head, in unison they finished the last sentence.

**_"-Reason, unknown"_******

Mac leaned across his desk_ "so you do know her?"_

Adam ran his fingers through his hair in anxiety.

_"Yeah, we used to date, a long time ago when I still lived in Phoenix, I was only 17. She used to carry around this backpack with two dinosaurs on the front; she wanted to be a palaeontologist. We were damn sure we were going to get married, live in the suburbs with two kids and a little doggy, you know the whole shabang, then well, my dad went to prison and I flew to New York to live with my mom, never saw her again, Last I heard she dropped out of high school and got a job on the family firm. I don't know whether that will help the case, but I swear to you I haven't seen her since, I don't recognize her face now, it's been so long"_

Mac sighed_ "due to conflict of interest you know you can't take this case, don't you?"_

Adam sat straight in his seat and stamped his foot in defiance

_"come on Mac, you know I didn't do it, please don't leave me hanging like this"_

Mac stood and pulled the photographs of the crime scene from his desk passing them to Adam.

_"Okay, listen. If you stay quiet and don't leave this office, you can analyse little things, but nothing that has any DNA from you on. But I must ask you to go home for now, and start tomorrow, or the Sheriff will start asking questions, that's the best I can do."_

Adam slowly nodded and pulled himself out of the chair, he knew this was going to be a difficult week. He closed the glass door to Macs office and slowly walked back to his office where Haylen was waiting for him.

_"Adam, everyone's talking about what's happened. I just want you to know everyone's here for you, and knows you had nothing to do with it, okay buddy?"_

Adam stared at Haylen, he had been horrible to her the last couple of days and she was the first one here to offer her support. Adam opened his arms as Haylen hugged him tight, secretly enjoying the warmth emanating from his chest, but before she knew it, it was over.

_"Babe? What's going on?"_

The woman's voice made Haylen jump as she noticed a young woman hovering at the entrance. Adam twirled around and saw Emma, he smiled as he released Haylen from his arms and kissed the tall redhead.

_"Haylen, this is Emma, my girlfriend. Emma this is Haylen, a fellow lab rat"_ he chuckled.

Emma looked Haylen up and down and smirked _"Oh, that's... nice, so a little birdie told me you're getting the rest of the day off honey? Let's go get some lunch and then come back to mine for ...desert"_

Adam smiled at Emma and grabbed his coat from his chair, as he was dragged off. Haylen stared at the strange woman pulling away the sweet lab tech and gasped as she turned and snarled back at her. She couldn't understand why she felt so upset but as the elevator doors shielded Adams face from view, she felt tears sting her eyes.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Danny searched through the victims bedroom, collecting anything that suggested a man was present. Scraping someone's hair from the drain was not exactly his idea of a fun day out, but if it would prove Adams innocence he would do a hell of a lot worse. Stella printed wine glasses that were littered around the apartment and gathered hairs from the carpets, even though she knew Adam was in no way capable of such violence, she couldn't let that cloud the evidence, she sighed as she placed the swabs in her bag and headed for the exit.

Danny and Stella met in the sitting room of the small apartment and pulled their jackets on.

_"You know for a girl in a relationship, there's no sign of anything male-like here at all, I mean girls mags everywhere, everything neat and in its place. No sign of a pair of boxers, a man's toothbrush or slippers, I find that strange, men are pigs when they stay over"_

Danny laughed _"That's not true, I always put the toilet seat down AND treat them to one of my famous omelettes"_

_"Ohh, omelettes and no urine streaked floor, that's a true gentlemen"_

Danny playfully punched Stella in the arm as they sauntered towards the apartment door, before noticing they were missing a team member.

_"Flack? We're heading off now."_

Flack stood gazing at the cork board hanging in the victims kitchen.

_"Yeah? Well you might wanna look at this first. She managed to snap a photo of this guy she was dating. There's something... odd, about it"_

Stella exchanged a frown with Danny and followed Flacks gaze to a small photograph pinned in a far corner, the face had been scrawled over in biro.

_"Looks like someone didn't want us to see his face"_

Danny snapped on his gloves and pulled the photo from the board.

_"you know this guys looking better and better for this murder, let's get back to the lab and get our boy out of the heat"_

As the group headed for the door, a tone chimed from Stella's pockets.

**Lindsay Monroe**

Stella flipped her phone.

_"Hey Linds, what you got?"_

**_"Stella, I think we've made a huge mistake"_**

Stella looked across to the two detectives and ran her hands through her hair.

_"what? I don't understand"_

_**"ALL of the epithelial traces we found on the victim and the skin cells under her finger nails, all came back to unknown female, there is nothing on our victim at all that suggests a man came close to her within the last 24 hours"**_

_"So, what does that mean? I mean Adams prints are on that tie?"_

Stella could hear the whirring of the lab computers in the background as Lindsay slowly exhaled.

_"It means, our killer is female, not Adam. But the tie is still a mystery"_

Stella felt the weight being pulled from her shoulders as Lindsay words still rang in her ears, she thanked Lindsay and pushed her phone into her pocked before turning to the waiting detectives.

_"Adams innocent, now let's find this bitch and prove it"_

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_"So, does this Haylen have a boyfriend?"_

Adam could feel Emma eyes burning into his head as he tucked the silk napkin into shirt, they'd only been at the resteraunt for 5 minutes and she'd basically asked for Haylen's life story.

_"I, er, well, I don't know really, I don't think so, she's never mentioned one"_

Emma scoffed before moving closer to Adam, reaching across the table she traces circles on his palms and then smiles.

_"So, you and Haylen talk a lot then?"_

Adam leans back into his chair and sighs.

_"Look, babe, what's with all these questions?"_

_"Nothing, I just want to know about your work life"_

Adam smiled and began combing through the menu.

_"Hey, I've got that surprise for you!_"

Adam glanced up at Emma who was beaming as she pulled something from her handbag, Adam couldn't help wondering how she manages to change her mood so quickly, it's like she's a different person every day, but he couldn't help chuckling at her infectious smile.

_"Here it is! Look what Emma got printed_"

Adams smile slowly sank as he stared at his gift. Dozens of photos of himself had been tiled across the front of a photo album and merged with another dozen of a little girl, Emma supposedly, and across the top in gold lettering read.

**_"Our Family Album"_******

Adam looked up at Emma and gave a half-hearted smile, he then began to thumb through the contents page;

_**' Our first date  
Our engagement  
Our wedding day  
Our holidays  
Our children'**_

Adam pulled the first page open and found pictures of himself getting dressed for the date, in the resteraunt, ordering a meal, going to the bathroom, calling a cab, getting into the flat and even some of himself asleep. Panic was creeping into Adam as he slowly closed the book and pushed it away, how had she gotten pictures of him when he hadn't even got to the date yet?

_"Honey, erm, how did you get all these photos? I mean my baby photos and me in my apartment?"_

Emma smiled sweetly at Adam and waved her hand dismissing Adams question.

_"Oh I just stopped by your moms house, she gave me them and also wants us to come to dinner next Thursday"_

Adams eyes widened and opened his mouth to speak, finding he couldn't find any words to explain the utter confusion he felt at that moment.

_"You spoke to my mom? Like, without my permission? And why does she want us to come to dinner... she never calls me... or wants to see me..."_

Emma giggled

_"Oh come on, it isn't a big deal, i won't do it again, i just wanted to speak to her. And well she wanted to congratulate us"_

_"on what?"_

Emma straightened in her seat and placed her hands over her stomach and smiled.

_"I'm pregnant"_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter as things are about to get SPICY :D**_

Thank you! read and review if you wannna xxxxxxx  
__

Chapter_ 8_

_Stella bolted from the lift and into Macs office. Mac sat at his desk, sipping coffee and trawling through previous cases, he rose as Stella entered._

"I heard the news from Lindsay, Adams off the hook right?"

Mac smiled at Stella and gestured for her to sit.

"Yes, to a certain extent. Look, we can see that he obviously didn't kill her, but we haven't ruled out association with the killer herself"

Stella sighed and rolled her eyes.

"mac have you heard yourself? Come on, its Adam. He's not associated with any women, ever"

Macs face suddenly grew dark as he looked through Stella and into Adams lab. Stella followed Macs gaze to Adams lab and back to Mac, she hated when he let her hang.

"Mac? Erm... you've gone into a little trance or something..."

"Stella, have you noticed anything odd about Adam lately? Well, you know more odd?"

Stella paused to think.

"Well, he seems a lot happier and smells better..."

"yes, now why would you think he does?"

Stella looked around the room for inspiration and glimpsed at Macs photo of his wife, hung in a prime position above the door, and suddenly it all made sense.

"Adams got a girlfriend!"

Mac rose from his seat and stormed into Adams office; he began combing through the lab techs equipment, under his desk and checking his lab coat, nothing. Haylen peered through the door at Mac.

"Hey Mac, um, what you doing? You know Adam hates people touching his desk"

Mac walked towards Haylen.

"Did you see Adam earlier?"

"Yeah, but he left. His new girlfriend came in and took him to lunch"

Macs eyes widened.

"Where? How long ago?"

Haylen backed off and held up her hands.

"I don't know, what's going on?"

Mac turned from Haylen and looked at Adams computer, a photo of Adam and a small redhead girl filled the screen, Adams smile seemed to be as wide as the photo itself. Mac printed the photo and passed it to Haylen who stood bewildered next to the door.

"Haylen, I think we just found our killer"

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	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey folks! Sorry for not writing in so long, felt so bad when I started getting more followers! I just want to say thankyou thankyou and thankyou to all you who review, follow and favourite! you give me the motivation to keep going! Love y'all.**_

___**Also, soon I'm going to be bringing out a Youtube channel with my boyfriend, just for casual vlogging, boyfriend tags, singing and travelling, so if you wanna check it out and subscribe I'll be updating you guys with that from time to time :) But no pressure.**_

Anyway, heres the next chapter, hope you enjoy! xxxx

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Adam looked into Emma's eyes secretly searching for the hint of a joke, but there was none. He just couldn't understand how this could be happening to him, on some level he was happy, he'd always wanted to have children, and he wasn't getting any younger, but he had just met Emma, and he wasn't even all that sure they were going to work out.

"How do you feel about it?" Emma whispered as she reached out and stroked Adams arm.  


_Adam rose from his chair and rubbed his hands down his face._

" I honestly don't know, but I think I need some time alone, I'll be home later"

Emma's eyes widened with fear as she watched Adam pull on his jacket and exit, she can't lose him, not now, not to her, not ever.

Adam walked silently for hours through the empty back streets near his apartment, wishing he could turn back time, wishing he wasn't so stupid all the time. As he slowly spiralled into a small depression his phone rang. [_**Haylen]**_

"hello?"  
"Hey Adam, great news! We've cleared you completely and you're all ready to come back to work! Isn't that awesome?!"  
_  
Adam smiled to himself, somehow Haylen always managed to make a dark situation so much brighter and never failed to make him smile._

_**"Yeah, that's great!"  
"... So? You're gonna come back, right?"**_

_Adam sighed. __**"Maybe not today, I have a lot to think about, I'm not in the frame of mind to solve crime"**_

_Adam could hear Haylen laughing into the receiver.  
__**"Oh, come on Adam! You're a lab tech, not superman! Besides we really need you down here buddy!"**_

"fine!... Ok...but I'm not staying long"

_Adam hung up and began to head to the lab, he couldn't get the Haylen's voice out of his mind, she puzzled him to the point of logical exhaustion, and how can she be funny, smart AND beautiful? Suddenly he found himself half-running to get there quicker. He bolted through the doors and took the stairs two at a time bursting through the lab door to find it completely empty._

"Haylen?"

Adam twirled around and saw the team assembled in Macs office, combing through photographs of something. Adam made his way slowly towards the entrance and knocked on the door.

"Hey Mac? Whats going on?"

Mac beckoned Adam closer as the team parted to reveal the photos.

"Adam, there's been another murder, another young girl, Flack just sent these photos over, killed in what appears to be the same way, is there any chance you know this girl"

Adam picked up one of the photos, a dead white face stared back at him, a once beautiful young woman was now lifeless and cold. But there was something he recognised, the small bracelet on her hand, he used to wear that every day, until Emma bought him a watch for their one month anniversary.

"She's wearing my bracelet"

Mac looked to Stella and Danny who shrugged and produced a small file, handing it to Mac.

"Adam, you sure you don't know her?"

Adam shrugged and placed the photos on the desk. "No, I don't think so"

Mac opened the file in his hands and began to read.

"Louisa Swartz, 26, originally from California, moved here for college"

Adam's brain was working overtime; he had heard the name before but couldn't place the face.

"She studied fine art and lived alone downtown, well apart from her cat 'Pacino'"

"Pacino? Oh my god, that cat was a nightmare!"

Mac raised his eyebrows in surprise. "So you do know her?"

"Yeah, she, she was my ex girlfriend from college"

Mac exchanged looks with the team as Adam pulled the photo from the desk, each nodded to one another as Mac stated the obvious.

"I see a pattern emerging here"


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

The sun was setting on New York as Mac emptied his office and settled at his desk. Adam sat silent in Macs office, he could feel the four walls crushing him slowly, he hated when the CSI team became the very thing they were investigating, and now it was him he just couldn't handle the pressure.

"Look Adam, you're not stupid, you know you where this is going... Where is Emma?"

Unfortunately Adam new Mac was right, there was this strange coincidence which seemed to feature a large number of his past relationships, but could he really accuse Emma of murder? The only thing he found strange about Emma was that she actually loved him, she was caring, gentle and who cares whether sometimes she gets a little crazy. Suddenly it occurred to Adam that she had been asking an awful lot of questions about his relationships lately, and his work colleagues... come to think about, she's just been obsessed with him in general.

"Adam? Are you with me?"

Mac leaned closer to Adam over the desk, studying his facial expression.

"Mac... I don't know what to think, it's a bit personal. Emma is my girlfriend, I kind of thought she was, well not to be naive, but 'The one', and she just told me she's ... with child"

Mac leaned back into his chair with a sigh.

"Adam, I don't think you're going to want to hear this, but it's for your own good, I didn't think Emma is being completely truthful with you, I may have been doing a little bit of my own investigation, there is no Emma Shipman in any of our databases, no birth records or anything, I think maybe you-"

"NO! Stop this Mac! How dare you go behind my back like that and investigate my life like some kind of weird experiment"

Adam stormed out of his boss's office and straight into the lab startling Haylen

"Hey Adam, is everything ok?"

"Haylen don't even bother! Bet you're in on it to aren't you? You think you're so perfect and clever? How about just leaving me the hell alone?"

Haylen could feel her cheeks burning red with embarrassment as Adam stomped out of the office and ran down the stairs, what had she done? Or supposedly done? She looked across to Adams computer with that silly photograph of him, she knew it was silly to think about him when they were investigating his absurd girlfriend but she couldn't help it, he was adorable, even if he was a little dumb at times and wore the strangest of shirts. Haylen poked her head out of the lab as Mac passed

"Mac, Whats going on with Adam?"

Mac stopped and turned to his team who were gathering around, their faces strained with confusion and worry for Adam, they stuck together like a family and at this point in time Mac was going to have to be the father and take charge.

"Look people, we are all worried for Adam but right now we need to do what we do best, find the bad guy.. or girl as it was. You know as well as I do, no amount of talking will solve this, and I don't think he's going to be in the mood for talking anyway, so let's just get down to business and it'll work out for Adam in the end."

The team exchanged nervous glances and made a noise of agreement as they all fled quickly back to their labs and posts. Stella, Mac and Lindsay shared one final glance silently agreeing that no matter what, they would pull their family back together. In the lab Haylen began searching through Adams folders for any indication of corruption, her eyes moving towards his photograph as her mouth sprung into an involuntary smile, she missed that goofy smile of his and failed to notice the dark figure moving towards her from the shadows.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Things are getting really exciting now! I'm finally getting to the action people!**_

Read and review

and I dont own a damn thing :P

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Chapter 11

Mac rushed around the office informing people to drop what they're doing immediately and concentrate on getting some evidence against Emma Shipman, he picked up his phone and punched in the number for Flack.

"Hey Flack, is Danny with you, its an emergency"

"Yeah, he's right here, we've been trying to trace the guy from her work for ages, its all coming to a dead end"

"Thats because there is no guy, you've been searching for a man, when we should've been searching for a woman all along"

Mac could hear Flack sigh down the phone. "What are you talking about?"

"Emma Shipman, Adams new girlfriend, thats our woman"

"Shit! Really? Ok, erm do you want us to go get her?"

"NO!" Mac almost screamed. "No, I need you to keep a real close eye on Adam just for now, if we get Emma now we don't have enough evidence to retain her, and right now we're ahead of the game, she doesn't know we're onto her, so lets bide our time collect all the evidence we can and then catch her off gaurd"

"Okay Mac, you're the boss" and with that Mac hung up.

He immediately continued from where he left off and ran towards Haylen and Adams labs.

"Haylen, you know the drill I-"

Mac was greeted with an empty lab, there appeared to be no sign of Haylen, although he could swear he spoke to her no longer than an hour ago. He walked further into the office and felt something snap under his feet, Mac moved his feet and realised there was shard of broken glass scattered all over the floor. He could see a rack of test tubes had been knocked from its perch on the table and various chemicals lay on the floor, he looked around the empty lab, what the hell had gone on? Just then Macs eyes were drawn to a small earring on the shining amongst the colourful liquids on the floor, he swiftly grabbed a pair of gloves from his pocket and examined it. Blood. He placed the earring in a bag for testing and looked out of the window. He knew what had happened, how could he have been so stupid. Everyone knows that Adam has a massive crush on Haylen, therefore he should have realised that Emma would.

"Things are about to get really complicated" Mac muttered to himself.

-

Haylen felt a surge of pain slice into her skull as she attempted to open her eyes, blackness was all she could see. She could feel hard ropes burning into her skin as she tried to move her hands. Warm liquid Haylen realise was blood trickled down her face as she writhed beneath her restraints.

"what the hell is going on" she whispered.

" Ah, you're awake I see" a voice called from the darkness.

Haylen jumped at the sound of another persons voice, realising she wasn't dreaming.

"Who- Who are you?"

"Thats none of your concern" The voice sneered.

Haylen strained her eyes as she could make out a dark figure about 10 feet away.

"Why have you done this to me?" Haylen could feel her panic level rising, when she had applied for this job they made you take classes just in case these kinds of situations occurred, but she had never exactly paid that much attention, she had assumed it never would.

"you're planning to steal from me, and I can't allow that" came the voice.

As Haylen's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, the room suddenly burst into light again causing her to wince in pain. She looked around the room, which looked more like an abandoned warehouse and noticed small hooks hanging from the ceiling, where was she? A loud click came from the other side of the room and Haylens eyes followed, she could see a small redhead woman doing something in the corner of the room, but was unable to see her face.

"Do I know you?" The questioned seemed stupid but she had to ask.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks as if contemplating her response and continued on. "Oh sure you do, buddy"

Haylen could feel the woman was mocking her, but still couldn't understand who she was, 'buddy' was a word used by most people, although she herself had never been that fond of it and mainly only used it to tease Adam. It suddenly dawned on her. Emma.

"Emma" Haylen enquired softly, She decided she would put into action some of the skills she could remember from her classes, keep calm and keep her talking, maybe the team were already tracking her.

The woman stopped again and sighed loudly.

"well, I guess you're not as simple as I first presumed"

The woman turned round as if presenting a new outfit for a catwalk and confirmed Haylen's suspicion. Emma looked different wearing a hoodie at least twice her size and combat trousers, but still had those eyes, the ones that has stared at her like a slab of meat the first time she met her. She realised what this meant, the warehouse and the hooks, she was the meat... and it was time to get butchered. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok, so I really need to give you guys an apology. I havent been watching CSI lately and have been concentrating on my newer fanfic on the The Big Bang theory (which you are welcome to read ;)) and havent been able to be creative enough to write about this in a while. But I finally managed too tonight and had a lot of fun doing it... oh how i missed you Adam :)**

p.s sorry for any typos... its pretty late here :')

Anyway, read and review and I'll promise to update sooner xxxx

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Chapter 12

Adam slammed his apartment door and dropped his eyes on a kitchen counter before plopping himself onto the couch and yawning.

"Emma? You in babe? Had a hell of a day" no response came. Adam frowned and heaved himself from his seat, walking around the apartment. Walking into his bedroom he smiled down at his bed, his night shorts had been folded next to Emma's nightgown and she'd even placed his slippers next to the heater, ready for him for when he came home.

**Mac must me wrong, there's no way Emma was capable of something so violent. **

He looked around the room, admiring all the not so subtle changes she had made to his apartment. Pink fluffy pillows were scattered in every corner of the room, her lotions and ointments stood tall next to his old and only bottle of cologne. He loved having someone in his life, someone who really cared for him. He took the opportunity to snoop around further, he had never took the time to properly discover his new decor and reasoned now was a pretty good time to start.

He circled the bed and looked at the now girled up bedside table, a small photo frame of Emma and Adam at the park stood proud next to her alarm clock. He pulled out the drawer and thumbed through her belongings, an Ipod, a hairbrush and a pair of sunglasses. Nothing special.

He made his way over to his rickety old drawers, he had never taken much notice of his home in the caring way. He just bought what he needed and got on with it, apart from his beloved gaming consoles and computer... they were his children. He wrestled the old oak drawers open and found Emma's range of lingerie and under clothes, he had seen most of those... and enjoyed every one of them. But as he ran his fingers over the soft materials he felt something pertrude out, reaching in he pulled out a book and frowned. **She'd never showed me this before. **

resting on the bed he pulled the book open and stared at the pages. **What the hell is this? **He was staring at an image of himself in highschool, in his mid teens. His goofy parker and scuffed jeans made him stand out in his school photos as the rest of the students could afford nice jackets and smart trousers, he had no such luck.

She had circled Stephanie. The girl who was murdered.

But there was another girl. A girl hunched in the corner. Her hair pulled back into a tight bun at the top of her head, and her round body seemed to push against her school clothes as she scowled at the camera. Adam furrowed his brow, **Why circle her? **He had barely noticed that girl. Natalie, Adam recalled as he stared down at the photo once more. They hadn't spoken much, but she seemed to like to talk to anyone who'd let her. Especially Adam.

There was something so familiar about her, so potent it almost jumped off the page. Her eyes, he had seen them before, so many many times. In fact, he had been waking up to them every morning for the last month. Emma.

Adam ran his hands through his hair, **why would she lie? **She had told him her name was Emma when they had met; she had just walked up to him in a bar like anybody else. Surely this was an accident, she could have changed her name and not even realised it was him. But circling Stephanie in the year book, was that going too far.

Adam continued flicking through, pages and pages of photographs of him went by, like a timeline of his life. Late teens, prom, college, early 20's and recently. When had she taken all of these? His mom certainly did not take the photo of him chugging all of those beers, so how? Had she followed him? Surely not.

He continued, flicking to the end and there it was, a list of all the girls he had ever dated, been in a relationship with or even given his number to. Adam looked down the faces of the women, it was literally his life in a book, like his life flashing before his eyes, and down in the right corner was Haylin. The picture was one from her work badge, her smile spreading across her creamy skin and her eyes glowing in her usual warm happiness. **Damn its even infectious on paper** Adam smiled momentarily and then frowned as he noticed the red line blemishing her perfection. Emma had put a cross through Haylins photo... just like Stephanie.

Mac was right, she was a murderer.

Adam burst into action, grabbing his jacket and keys and sprinting out of the apartment.

"WOAH ADAM!" Flack hopped out in front of Adam as he exited his apartment building and took to the street. "whats the rush bud?" He laughed, holding out an arm as a barrier.

"Flack, it's Emma. She's the killer" Adam shouted, panting.

Flack pulled Adam into the car. "quiet will you? Who knows who's listening! And we know!"

Adam frowned at Flack and began shuffling to get out of the car. "what the hell are we doing here then?" Adam growled as he felt Flack pulling him back into his seat, **Damn my poor upper body strength!**

"woah, we can't go barging after her, we don't have enough evidence to hold her yet" Flack explained, making calming gestures to the frustrated lab rat.

"hell yeah we do, look at this" Adam yelled, pulling the book he found out of his pocket and passing it to Flack. "Flack she's going after Haylin"

Flack looked to Adam and sighed, he hated when things got too complicated. Suddenly his phone rang, thankful for the distraction he picked it up. "Detective Flack"

"It's Mac, we have an issue. Haylen is missing"

Flack sighed as Mac confirmed his suspicions. "Emma has found her"

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	13. Chapter 13

**Haven't updated this fanfic in SUCH a long time - and I'm sorry! but I have gotten back into CSI shows and felt like updating another chapter so here is chapter 13 :) This will be ending soon, I aim to finish it over the summer.**

Read and Review please 3

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Chapter 13

Flack_ and Adam took the steps up to lab two at a time, bursting through the doors to Macs office._

"Any news?" Adam panted. Mac was stood at his desk, a map of New York plastered across his computer screen.

"No, not yet. I've got the police on standby, but right now we have to figure out where she has took Haylen" Adam had never seen Mac this distressed, they had not suspected any form of kidnapping would occur in this case. Beads of sweat were now forming across his brow as he took a seat at Macs desk and stared at the screen.

"So, we found Stephanie in her apartment at this green X" Adam started, pointing at the glowing icon on the screen."So what are these other icons?" Adam frowned, glaring at the green x's scattered over the map.

Mac sighed, pulling a pile of case folders from his drawer and dumping them in front of Adam. Adam pulled open the folders to see a range of photographs, dozens of girls draped over their banisters, a wedding dress dragging across the floor. He hadn't realised he had dated that many girls, most of them hadn't lasted more than a week, and not even they were spared.

"13 girls, are you serious?" Adam croaked, the anger threatening to choke him.

"I'm afraid so, she's been busy recently. The police on the scene never made connections to the other murders, as there was no motive link in any of them, the only thing in common was the dress and the way they were murdered. The police thought it was some kind of mass suicide stunt, until we got to investigate one in New York." Mac explained.

Adam stared at the women from his past, wishing he wasn't in this situation."Her name isn't Emma. It's Natalie, she was in my high school many years ago, we were kind of friends" Adam recalled, sharing his vital information with Mac.

"Natalie, what?" Mac asked, firing up the search engine for the police department.

"Burrman, I think. She was an introvert, didn't talk much, she liked to smile though" Adam answered remembering the days where she would wait in the cafeteria for Adam, smiling as he would arrive and politely escort her into the cafeteria.

Mac nodded as he entered the name and clicked search scowering the results. "Natalie Burrmen, 26, born in Phoenix. There's not much else on here, she had a pretty bad mental breakdown at the age of 18"

Adam turned to Mac. " 18, was she still in high school?"

"Yes, nearly graduated" Mac replied.

"I think I know what the wedding dress is about." Adam turned to Mac, stunned. "During the final years of high school we all put on a leavers play, we did great expectations. That was the year Natalie really came out of her shell, she even volunteered to be misses Havisham, unfortunately everybody kind of thought she sucked"

Mac nodded along. "That would explain the dress, but why is she targeting you?" he puzzled.

"I'm not sure, we never really best friends or anything, I was always polite. More to the point, why is she targeting Haylen? We've never even had one date?" the familiar wave of sadness flooded Adam's body as he thought of Haylen, hurt or worse.

Mac shrugged and sunk back into his chair in thought. "Well, maybe she was mistaken? After all, she can't have been that smart messing with us..."

_

Haylen looked around the room, Emma was still working on something in the corner, the screeching of metal upon metal hinted that perhaps she was sharpening her tools.

**I AM NOT GOING TO BE A VICTIM. **_Haylen's mind kept screaming_

She could just imagine it, Mac leaning over her lifeless, mutilated body.

**ADAM. Oh no Adam. **_She could not believe she wouldn't have the chance, the chance to tell him how much she cared about him, that she was sorry for pulling all of those jokes._

_**If I ever see him again, I will tell him. I will tell him everything. **__She promised herself._

Haylen looked down at her clothing, speckles of blood dripped down her favourite shirt, she must have struggled when she was taken. But she still couldn't remember. She had always felt sorry for the victims she investigated, always pitied the way they had been completely helpless, yet here she is, cold, bloodied and restrained. With others pitying her. She would NOT be that girl, that victim that couldn't help themselves. She knew more than that. Carefully, she examined the room once more. Where was she?

The warehouse was almost pitch black, with only a small light from a candle burning next to Emma. The warehouse had been abandoned for quite some time judging by the dust gathered on the boarded windows. She had definitely never seen this place before, but as she blocked out the sound of tools, she could hear the whirring of large engines outside.

She had degrees in forensic sciences and had been at the top of her class for as long as she could remember, she could do this. If the engine was that loud it can permeate through thick metal, then it's large, much larger than any car could have. A plane.

_**Of course!**_

_Then there must be an airport close, they must be just outside of the city, those planes are just taking off and are too close to be near any high rise buildings._

_**OK, I need to hurry up.**_

Scowering the floor beneath her chair she searched for anything, anything to untie her hands. If they were that close to the city, Emma knew they didn't have long before Mac and the team made their way out here. Haylen could feel the course fibres of the rope against her wrist, each time she moved they would tighten against her skin, cutting into her slowly.

**come on, come on, come on.**_ She egged herself on, searching for anything that would help._

Suddenly, Horatios voice came into her mind. Reminding her, that you always have to walk before you can run.

She had to think, if she kept moving around and panicking, then she would get caught and as Emma glanced over her shoulder for the fifth time, she knew she had to think fast. It took a few minutes for Emma to turn back around before Haylen could start her search again. This time she would be careful.

Gently, Haylen craned her neck and turned to look at the wall behind her. In this warehouse, there were meat hooks everywhere, and usually when the meat had been prepared it would then be stalled at the back on the building, ready to be collected. Her eyes had still not fully adjusted to the darkness and as she strained to stare at the cold grey walls, she felt the dull ache return to her head once more. Biting her lips she continued to scan, wincing as she felt the warmth of fresh blood dribbling down her hands where the rope had finally managed to slice into her.

**A hook. **__

She had found one, just one. Barely sticking out of the wall, barely visible. But it was at least four or five feet away, and she was stuck. She would have to shuffle across the floor, if even possible, and cut herself free but with Emma seeming to come to the end of her task, it would be a long shot. But a one she would have to take to survive.


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is actually the longest I've ever written, this may seem like nothing but hey it's a good moment for me! :) It's also a little different and I had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you have a lot of fun reading it!**

Read and review! I own nothing!

-

Adam's mind wandered back to his days at high school, scanning his memories in search of anything that could prove useful in the search for Haylen, while Mac triangulated the pin points of each murder in search of any similarities.

"There just doesn't seem to be a pattern in her movements, usually these killers operate in some kind of routine, but here there is none" Mac grumbled, staring at the board. Every second he puzzled over this damn thing, another second passed with his CSI in danger.

"that's because it isn't about them, its about me" Adam reminded him, Macs office door had been locked with only them to inside for the past two hours, sending the rest of the team out to process Haylens lab and scan her computer. "It must have something to do with me" Adam sighed, he was exhausted from all this work, he was used to his usual hours in the lab, and nothing else. But he wouldn't stop until she was found. It had been strange how she and him had formed a friendship, almost out of hatred. She had been trying to get his job for months, or at least that is what Adam suspected, although once she got a job in the same lab as him he realised she was much nicer than he had thought.,

He would arrive late every morning and she would covr for him, handing him a cup of coffee to start the day with. He had been sceptical at first, wondering whether she was just trying to impress Mac, but this carried on for almost a year, until he met Emma.

"No, not just you. She is obsessed with the state of your relationship; it's about you and her. It has to be something to do with you and her, tell me more about your leaver's day" Mac probed, settling at his desk, eyes fixed on Adam.

"Um okay" Adam had no idea how this would help, his leavers mainly consisted of a lot of drinking and partying, damn, he didn't even remember where he had been the next morning. "Well, it was a Friday night and after we finished our school play, we dropped the parents and all met at around 8pm at our spot in the fields next to our school. We went somewhere, I don't remember, I was still being hazed by the frats at this point, so they'd already ploughed me with drinks before I stepped into the car" Adam recalled, bringing his mind back to that gloomy Friday.

_

_"hey Adam drink this" one of the frat boys, Johnny, called handing Adam what looked like an old soda can filled with clear liquid._

"Are you kidding me? That's almost half a litre of pure vodka" Adam grimaced holding the can back out to his so-called friends. He had always wanted to belong to something like t-his, he wanted to be one of the guys, and this had been his chance.

"Come on man, don't be a pussy" another voice teased, slapping him on the back with almost brutal force.

"I'm not a pussy" Adam yelled, he had been saying that a lot lately, it was almost like a reflex.

"Then do it, man, we've only seen you having a few beers, you haven't even taken shots yet. You want to be one of the guys or not?" Johnny asked, faking a friendly smile before proceeding to start a chant with the rest of the group.

"drink, drink, drink, drink" the voices seemed to get louder and louder as Adam stared at the liquid in his hands, he had seen vodka before and it had never been as cloudy as this,. But he knew he had come too far to back out, if he said no, there would be hell to pay. So with one tip of his wrist he let the vile liquid wash down his throat, almost burning his tongue.

"wheyyyy" the voices chanted again, and with another slap on the back, Adam hit the floor.

-  
  
"Adam… Adam" Macs voice called him back to the present. "Do you remember where they took you?" He questioned, noticing the dazy look in Adam's eyes, it was the same as when he told the stories of his many ex girlfriends.

"I… don't know" Adam tried, closing his eyes and sending his mind back to that day, but he could remember no more.

"Do you think seeing photos of your school or your old class mates would help?" Mac searched the drawers of his desk and pulled out some photographs of Stephanie from her teenage years and placed them in front of Adam. "Anything?" he asked

Adam stared down at the young face, he could remember her. She had always been so lovely, but she had not been at the leaver's party. And something kept bugging him about that night, if something were to of set Emma off, it would've been at that party.

"No, I don't think it has anything to do with her. Do you have any pictures of Emma from her younger days?" as Mac returned to his drawer and pulled out an image of Emma. He remembered her. Always being picked on by the older kids, he had felt sorry for her. The picture must have been from her final years at school, it was one of the old kinds with the clouded blue sky in the background and the terrible lighting which loved to illuminate any kind of blemish on your face. But parents always seemed to adore it. Still something kept bugging him, there was something about that photo that just kept coming back to him.

The dress.

The blue and white striped dress which was one of the only memories he had of that night. He had been with her at that building, she had been at the leaver's party, and he knew exactly where.

-

Haylen stared at the hook in the wall; it was the only way she could escape. Taking a look back to Emma she slowly pushed her feet against the ground, she hadn't noticed that her shoes were missing, but she figured they must have been removed in case of a struggle. The chair moved only a centimetre; she would have to push harder. She had studied physics at college, she knew that she would have to get the perfect angle in order for the chare to move without making a noise, but without being able to accurately judge the angle, it was nearly impossible.

"We love each other you know" Haylens breath hitched in her chest at the sound of Emma's high pitched voice calling from her work space. "We're going to get married and have children, he already thinks I'm pregnant" she finished with a small chuckle, relishing in her triumph.

"What do you mean?" Haylen called back. She had reasoned that whilst Emma was talking she would be able to make the chair move at least 3 or 4 inches, without causing too much noise, but she would have to keep her talking.

"He was mine, way before he belonged to any of those other girls. Way before you. But you see, they were always going to get in the way of our love, and so I dealt with them, for both of us. He'll thank me one day" Haylen could almost sense the smile Emma was making as she continued to scrape and sharpen what looked like hundreds of nails.

Looking back she had moved at least 3 inches in that last sentence, there was at least another half a foot between herself and the hook. She needed longer sentences.

"I saw what you did to those girls, very creative" she tried, hopefully teasing out a long winded explanation.

Only a laugh came in return.

"Why did you choose the wedding dress" She tried again, her plan wouldn't work without her talking.

Silence.

Haylen racked her brains for anything she could say, mocking or taunting her would certainly get her to talk, but wouldn't be a good move without being untied.

"Why aren't you planning on doing the same thing to me?" This was her last shot at being just curious and unthreatening, after this she would have to change tactics.

Suddenly, a clang rang out in the large space, the sound of metal being dropped on mental. "Because…. I've seen the way he looks at you. It wasn't like the other girls, they were lustful and arrogant. But you… you were incomparable, he had nothing but curiosity and admiration for you, you just a puzzle he couldn't wait to solve. Now, I could stand aside over the years and let him have a few one night stands, boy, half of those relationships didn't even last longer than a week, but not this. He couldn't fall in love. Those eyes were meant for me. " The question seemed to have hit a nerve, and it was going to Haylens plan as she shuffled inches and inches towards the wall, she could almost feel the cold from the steel walls cooling her swollen, bloody wrists.

"Those killings were not creative, they were a message. A message to Adam, that he needs me, reminding him of all the good times we spent together, that he didn't need anybody but me. Although admittedly, I had a lot of fun doing it. They would all say the same thing, what are you talking about and please don't hurt me. Snivelling little toads" Emma continued while Haylen finally reached the wall. She had noticed that Emma had been becoming increasingly irate with every new sentence, telling Haylen she would not have long before she would snap. She reached back and started rubbing the rope against the cool metal, missing sometimes and slicing open her arms or fingers, but she could feel none of it. She could feel the strands of the rope slowly loosening around her wrists as she pulled and pushed against it.

"They all died rather quickly; after all they were no real fret. But you… oh, you are my final message. And my best. You will be my work of art, a present to Adam. I want to take my time with you, Show you what the pain of true love can really do. First I'm going to break that pretty face of yours, show him that beauty is skin deep." Emma was caught in her fantasy whilst Haylen continued to pull herself free, she could almost move her shoulder around, she was so close.

"Then I'll move to give him your heart, so we can destroy it together. I'll make a small incision, which should only hurt a bit, and slowly pull out your organs, so I can get to that precious heart of yours, which you've graciously donated to my beloved and then I'll hang your little body from the beams of this old, dank building, for your little friends to find" A high pitch laugh pained Haylens ears as Emma laughed at her own joke. Haylen had been staring at the back of her head for at least 15 minutes, praying that she wouldn't turn around. She had already got one arm free and was still working on the second. The rope slowly slipped over her wrists, just as Emma spun around and lunged, a knife gleaming in her tight fist as she sprinted over to Haylen.

-

_"what's wrong with him?"_

"I think he's dead"

Adam opened his eyes, his head swollen from where he had fell and his eyes stung as they adjusted to the lights.

"Don't be stupid, look he's fine" before Adam could protest he was already being dragged to his feet and having another beer shoved into his hand. "Now, that was fun wasn't it?" Johnny laughed, ruffling Adams curly hair.

Adam leant against the strong frame of his new friend and looked around where he was, he didn't recognize the large tin of a buildings, there was make shift booth at the end of the room, made of old boards and branches. The place was freezing, and Adam had to fight back his desire to shiver in order to maintain his manly appearance.

"How long was I out?" He grumbled.

"Not long enough to miss your next fun task, my friend" Adam could feel the strength pour back into his legs as he pulled himself straight and turned to face his friends.

"What now?" Adam groaned as he was pulled to the opposite end of the building. They had made what appeared to be a make shift camp fire with small cushions placed around in a circle, there were at least 10 or 15 girls he had never seen before. "What's going on?" Adam asked, as he was being pushed further towards the group.

"Well, since you had never been properly drunk before, we figured there's some other things you'd er, never done before either" Johnny gave a small wink at Adam before pulling him next to his ear. "I'm sure we can get these girls drunk enough to take care of that" A knot formed in Adams stomach as he stared at the girls, some of them two or three years older than him. There was no way he could do this, he couldn't give his virginity to some random girl pretty much in full view of his friends. No way.

"Hey girls, who wants to do shots?" Johnny called, settling down next to a long blonde haired and pulling his arms around her. He recognized her as Emilia Johannsen, the most popular girl in school.

"Who invited her?" Emilia' s high pitched voice shrieked as she pointed at the girl in the striped blue dress, Emma. A look of panic crossed the girls wide eyes as she blushed and shuffled uncomfortably.

"Oh let her stay, she can just sit in the corner" Johnny laughed before pulling Emilia in for a long kiss, winking at Adam from over he shoulder. This night could not get any worse, Adam thought as he grimaced at the small booth, which was clearly occupied judging by the muffled moans and shrieking.

Pushing it out of his mind he settled down next to Emma and stared into the dwindling fire.

"Hey" Emma's soft voice whispered.

"Hey" Adam replied, though hardly in the mood for talking.

"I'm sorry" He heard her whisper, and felt the warmth of her fingers on his arms.

Adam blushed and looked to his arm. "What for?" he asked, confused at this sweet girl.

"For what they make you do" she smiled. "You shouldn't have to do those things, just to feel like you have friends" She spoke gently, as if scared that he would turn around and hit her at any moment.

"Thanks" Adam replied, offering a half hearted smile. "But isn't that why you're here?" he asked, turning to the girl beside him who looked no more than 16 , the glow of the fire making her seem vulnerable and much younger than her actual age.

"True" She giggled. "Guess it's hard to know where to belong" she empathized.

"OH hey, looks like you've got yourself a new girlfriend buddy!" Johnnies voice boomed, killing all conversations dead and turning the attention to himself and Emma.

"Well I'll clear the lurve booth out for you two" Johnny winked, putting a stupid fake accent on while he spoke. "Paula, Daniel! Get the hell out of there, give someone else a turn!" He yelled, as two teenagers fell out of the booth, redressing as they scrambled to the exit.

Adam turned to look at Emma, his eyes full of regret. He couldn't believe he had put himself in this position, and now he had dragged some innocent girl into this mess as well.

"Come on lovebirds, lets get this party started" Johnny continued yelling as a group of girls pulled Adam from his seat along with Emma and shoved them into the cold booth.

There was limited space in the wooden box and his chest was inches away from Emma's as he wondered how the hell people even had sex in here without falling over or head butting each other, there was hardly enough room to breathe.

"What do we do?" Emma whispered, staring at the floor.

"I don't know, I'm sorry" Adam moaned, shuffling back to lean against the wall.

"I don't hear much loving going on in there!" Johnny's taunting voice called from a few feet away.

This seemed to awaken something in Emma as she stepped closer to Adam and brought her hands to his face. Adam realised she must feel threatened by Johnny as she would be bullied for the rest of her life if she didn't go through with this.

"wait! We don't need to do this" Adam whispered, his lips millimetres from hers.

"how? You know what happens if we don't" tears had formed in Emma's eyes, Adam could never forgive himself if he went through with this, she was incredibly scared.

"We will just make it seem like we have" Adam smiled, pushing past Emma to stand near the door. "stand back a second" he laughed, before pulling off his shirt and throwing it over the top of the booth.

"Yeah thats my boy" He heard the praise of Johnny and the chorus of giggles from the girls around the fire, he was far smarter than these guys, he could play them right into his hands.

"ok, I'm sorry about this" Adam smiled as he pulled Emma against him and shook them around the room, making as much noise as possible. "Say something" He whispered, before making the fakest moan he could muster.

Emma copied and mumbled "oh yeah" before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"shh" Adam laughed, he couldn't believe how much fun he was having not having sex. Such a strange sentence but it was true here he was shaking around in a wooden shack, making stupid noises, and strangely making a new friend, although he doubted he would remember this in the morning.

They carried this on for about 15 minutes before their muscles ached and then stopped. "ok just a few more things to do; unzip your dress, take off your shoes and ruffle your hair" Adam ordered as he undid his belt and ruffled his own hair , the sweat pouring down his chest, he probably looked like he had gone three rounds with a porn star, but they'd buy it. He exchanged one more look at Emma before they both fell out of the booth and began fumbling with their clothing.

"Oh there they are" Johnny laughed, making his way to Adam and slapping him on the back. "god man you must be a stallion" he laughed, wiping the sweat off his palm onto his pants.

"Yeah" Adam laughed before turning to Emma. "So you're off are you?" he winked, giving her a way to escape.

"Oh yeah, of course, cya then" she smiled, as she stumbled towards the exit and disappeared.

Adam couldn't believe he had done it and fooled them all, maybe he would remember this after all.

"So what did you do with the condom?" Johnny asked, entering the booth and surveying their work.

"The what?" he asked, he hadn't even thought of that.

"The condom? Don't tell me you didn't use one" his eyes were now suspicious as he looked down Adam.

_"no yeah, of course I did, I erm... just threw it away" Adam lied, and lied bad. A monkey could see through that one._

"You think I'm stupid, Ross" Anger was bubbling in Johnnies eyes as he stepped closer to Adam. "You didn't do it did you?" He growled.

"look, she was scared ok I Ju-" Adam tried to explain but Johnny was already on top of him, wrestling him to the ground and grabbing his throat.

"You just made me look like an idiot in front of my girlfriends, now didn't you?" He snarled.

Those were the last words Adam could recall before his fist sped towards his face and it was lights out.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

"This is Flack, we need a SWAT unit and back up at Swann Hill storage facility in three minutes. We have a hostage situation with a CSI in progress, surround the building but do not attack until given word" Flack spoke quickly into his radio as the team jumped into their Jeeps and sped out into the streets of New York. Adam had been told to take the lead with Adam and direct the rest of the crew to the location. It was something he was not used to, being a leader had never been a strong suit of his.

"Do you think we'll make it in time?" Adam whispered, he had almost forgotten the reason behind his blast for the past. Haylen. She had been missing for a little over 12 hours now, and the statistics were not in her favour, with most hostages being murdered just after one day of being kept.

"Adam, she's a smart girl. That's why I hired her. That and I knew you two would get along" Mac turned and winked at Adam. They had been on the road for almost 5 minutes and they were nearly at the destination, Mac could drive like a formula 1 racer when he had a mission to complete. Adam had never really been in the car in moments like these, and the blurring of faces and screeching of tyres were beginning to make him nauseous. The nerves in the pit of his stomach were churning; the guilt almost unbearable, all of this was his doing.

"I hope you're not doing what I think you're doing?" Mac interrupted Adam's thoughts with a look of disappointed that softened the creases in his brow. "Don't blame yourself, there is no reason for her to have done what she has.. And you couldn't have changed it" Mac's reassuring words would have usually worked, Adam always felt better when he knew he hadn't done something wrong. But right now, he may not have been able to change the past, but he could sure as hell change the future, he needed to make this right.

"Pull over" Adam ordered, his eyes blazing with desperation.

"Adam I'm not sur-"Mac started but Adam was already unbuckling his belt.

"Please, just do it." Adam begged sighing in relief as the car rolled to a halt, causing the rest of the cars to stop.

"Mac, what's going on?" Stella's voice called to Mac from the car behind, but Adam was already buckling himself into the driving seat and checking the mirror.

"We're swapping seats for some reason-"Mac responded in his radio before it was flung from his hand with Adams erratic acceleration and the car sped down the street at top speed. Car horns and sirens blared as the air rushed through the open windows and ran through Adams hair.

"Adam slow down" Mac ordered as he braced himself in his seat holding onto the cover for his life.

The other cars struggled to keep up with Adam as they swerved in and out of traffic. Emma was not going to cause another death, especially not Haylen, it was time for him to man up and take control.

"We're here" Adam pointed to the large barns and tin huts clustered on a small hill down a small road surrounded by trees. "Tell the other cars to slow down, we need to be quiet." Adam advised, as he slowed his speed to 20 mph and gently rolled up the long drive way and pulled up a few metres from the building, too close and it would be too dangerous.

Hopping out of the car, Adam and the crew gathered in a circle to discuss tactics.

"Okay, so I say my boys and SWAT team surround the building and head in" Flack suggested, pulling on his bullet proof vest and holstering his gun.

"Wait, I don't think that's such a great idea?" Stella spoke up, turning to Mac to share her thoughts. "When I was being stalked by Frankie, he was obsessed with me, an individual. The only way she won't harm Haylen is if Adam talks her out of it." Stella reminded him.

"we can't send Adam in there, he isn't trained" Flack retorted, causing a chorus of discussion in the group, the entire group argued back and forward as Adam bent to pick up a vest and gun and suited up.

"I'm doing it" Adam spoke loud and clear, causing the rest of the group to look at him.

"Are you sure? This could turn nasty" Flack reminded him, with something that Adam had never seen on him, worry.

"Yes, I need to" he responded with a small smile. "Let's do this" He breathed as he took a slow walk up to the building with Mac by his side.

"Now remember, you have to play by her rules. You love her, ok?" Mac instructed. "Talk her out of doing this and if you can get her away from any weapon, then give us the signal." Mac finished, passing Adam his radio.

Adam nodded and turned to look at the large metal structure.

"Oh and Adam?" Mac called. "We've got your back".

-

Haylen heard the yelps of her attacker as she slipped from her binds and rolled to the floor, causing Emma to crash into the metal wall.

"You bitch" Emma screamed as she cradled her freshly bruised wrist.

Pulling herself to her feet Haylen searched for a weapon, anything that could help, but Emma was already speeding towards her.

Silently, Haylen cursed herself for never taking self-defence classes at college; they would have served well now. Jumping out of the way she narrowly missed the swinging claws once more, but she couldn't keep this up forever, she would have to fight. There she was again, another fist hurtling towards her, and this time she caught it in her hands and blocked the hit, serving Emma a swift kick to the stomach.

Managing to shuffle back a few inches, Haylen thought she could maybe escape and turned to run towards the small door at the end of the building but after getting a few feet away she felt nails dig into her thighs. She could feel herself being flung and cried out as she hit Emma's workspace sending hundreds of nails across the floor. She slammed to the floor fast and was pulled onto her back, the nails slicing through her vest and piercing her skin to find Emma's eyes burning into hers, flaming with fury and almost excitement.

"There, now this is better isn't it?" Emma smiled as Haylen struggled under her weight. "Shh shhh" she cooed, as she pulled the knife from her pocket and held it firmly against her throat.

Haylen fought back a scream as he felt the warm blood begin to soak her back. "Oh, I'm sorry, does that hurt?" Emma giggled and placing her hands on Haylen's shoulders, pushing the nails further into her skin.

Haylen closed her eyes and tried to think about something else. Her apartment. She had four magazines ready to read and her favourite fruit smoothie in the fridge, what she wouldn't give to be sat on her sofa right now, watching some lame show.

Opening her eyes the gleaming light of a knife stared right back at her. Hovering so close to her throat.

"See, you were meant to be so special. We were going to have some fun, but now you've pissed me off. So looks like we're going to have to end our relationship now" Emma smiled, placing the knife at the side of Haylens neck and slicing into her skin.

"WAIT" Adams voice echoed around the large room, causing Emma to whirl around. Haylens stared up at her as the anger drained out of her face and was substituted by infatuation.

"Baby, what are you doing here?" Emma smiled as Adam made a path through the nails and came to her side, cautiously keeping his distance.

"I came to see you" Adam tried. "Baby" he added at the end, although the word made the bile rise in his throat.

Haylen made eye contact with Adam and raised an eyebrow, confused by his tactic. He could easily just tackle Emma to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked, mustering a fake smile.

"Well, it's supposed to be a surprise. This is our fresh start, sweetheart." Emma spoke softly.

"That's beautiful, baby" He smiled, and looked to Haylen apologetically. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she had faith that he had some kind of plan.

"Thank you, do you wanna help? Actually it might make it more personal if we did this together" The excitement in Emma's voice almost made Adam wretch, but he continued to smile and held out his hand to his deranged girlfriend.

"Sure, but come here a second" He smiled as he pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist, signalling to Haylen to move away.

He was protecting her. She now understood why he didn't just tackle her, she still has the knife. But every inch of Haylens body was aching.

Haylen groped at the dirty floor, pulling her battered and bloody body across the floor, whilst Adam stalled.

"Thank you for all of my gifts" He mumbled as he stroked Emma's hair, watching Haylen inch further and further away.

"I didn't know what you'd think about them" she smiled, snuggling into Adams frame.

She was almost at the edge of the building, so close to safety. She recalled the moment Adam appeared through the door, the relief that flooded her body drowned out any pain she previously felt. He had looked so strong, his frame doubled with the use of a body vest. His white shirt sleeves had been rolled up showing his tattoos and toned arms. He looked like a superhero.

Lost in thought Haylen hadn't realised she had caused the nails under her body to scrape against the concrete flooring, making a screech ring out into the silence.

Emma turned in Adams arms to witness Haylens escape and the panic in Adam's eyes gave away his rouse.

"You...traitor" Emma whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she stared at Adam.

This wasn't going the way Adam had planned, but it seemed to be going ok, she wasn't freaking out, so maybe he could convince her to stand down.

"I'm sorry, why don't we just put the knife down and-"Adam tried to reason, but as Emma stared at the knife gripped in her hand, she snapped. Pushing out of Adams arms and slashing his arm. Blood oozed down his skin as he called out in surprise, stumbling but not falling he ducked to miss the swing of the young woman's fist. He had been in many fights in high school, but never with girls and he had an unwritten rule that you never hit a lady. He hadn't expected the next move, although he should have, as she leant back and landed a strong kick in the groin causing Adam to lurch in agony, this girl had steel capped boots and a hell of a kick.

Emma had the upper hand and again aimed her knife at the throat.

"I didn't want to do this. It was supposed to be just you and me. Why did you have to ruin that? This was our little game, we were having fun, and you killed it. You want out? Then you got it. I thought you were special but I guess not, and now its game over" she yelled raising the knife above her head.

Adam closed his eyes; he couldn't watch his own death, now he felt the same as the victims he processed. He imagined the knife slicing into her skin, tearing open his heart, the blood pooling around his body, draining him of life. But nothing came. Instead a bang echoed around the room and as Adam opened his eyes he found Emma lying next to him and Haylen standing over him, the wooden chair in her hands, staring at Emma's unconscious body.

"No. Now it's game over" she panted.


End file.
